The Once Great Kingdom of Esvalon

[CrimsonDoll]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/wildfire72885/mystic-castles.jpg


Just like any other story once the Kingdom of Esvalon was at peace and the country was ruled fairly but A king that loved his kingdom just as much as his own children. But our story doesn't start with the king but with a pair of lovers. He was one of the strongest and most skilled Knights of the kingdom of Esvalon and she? She was a priestess one of the strongest magically of the lands possessed by Lunar Elf race. The two of them met when he was sent by his King to unite the two kingdoms as he had with others. The kings goal was to work peacefully with every race that inhabited this planet and the two of them set eyes on each other as he asked for an audience with the Lunar Queen.

At first their attraction to each other was looked down upon not because he was human but because the elven race usually stuck to their own because of how long they seemed to live. The human race only lived a fraction of their lives and it usually wore mentally on the elven partner to watch the one they love grow old and died before their eyes as they only age a year. The two were persistent no matter what anyone said and soon their kind began to except the relationship. The lovers made a life for themselves some where between their two kingdoms and lived peacefully for a few years.

But like every fairy tail story that all must come to an end and this story in comes at the hand of an evil warlock named Zola. She was born as that of a dragon hybrid, a very rare mix because usually the child doesn't even survive being born. They usually have to be cut from their mother and the power within them is so great they rip themselves apart. But this child was different, she was stillborn when she was cut from her mother and was thrown into the hot lava pools of where she was born. The child was brought back to life, the heat restarting her heart and she crawled out of the searing liquid as if it was simply water. Her father rules over the dragons that inhabited the large volcano of the badlands where the ground of desert begins to crack and split into large holes in the ground.

There she lived, hunted and was raised by her father. Zola lived most of her young life in her hybrid form, the body was the same of a human but twice their size, her skin covered in crimson scales, claw like hands and feet, wings twice the size of her body and long black hair that she retained from her mothers features as well as her bright green eyes slit into reptile slits. When she grew to the age of 18 she began to learn very slowly how to shift her form into that of a human but when ever her emotions took hold she could never seem to hole that shape. Her father taught her everything he knew, shared his evil thoughts and desires. She was to succeed him when his life came to an end and when that day came her sights where set on taking over every inch of the land she could reach.

That was the day that the skys in the kingdom of Esvalon went dark, her numbers in the large powerful dragon where greater then the thousands of men the king had to defend the lands. The call went out across the kingdom as the dragons invaded and reached the ears of their most loyal Knight. He loved his kingdom and couldn't ignore their cries for help nor could the priestess he loved. The two of them made the perfect pair, he was skilled with a sword and she a powerful priestess gifted with great magic. They killed anyone that got in their way as they stormed the castle to rescue their king only to find him and his family dead at Zola's feet as she sat upon the thrown.

The battle between the three of them all but tore apart the castle, magic was met with magic and sword with claw but the two wasn't enough to bring Zola down. In a desperate attempt the priestess used what was left of her magic to trap Zola giving the Knight the opportunity to plunge his sword through the soft flesh of Zola's human form. The priestess' magic faded releasing the dragon woman and the lunar elf exhausted as well a valuable. Zola lay there her black blood dripping from the wound in her stomach, she began to draw together what magic she had left and a dark hand made of magic reached out for the priestess dragging her toward Zola. The knight wasn't fast enough to grab her and as the two women drew close they where enveloped in a dark cloud. A cry could be heard from the priestess and as the cloud faded all was left was one body.

The priestess once was beautiful with pale skin, long sapphire blue hair and eyes to match but now what crawled from the wreckage was completely different. It was the body of the one he loved but her hair was pitch black and the eyes that looked back at him her slitted jade green. To save her life Zola infused her soul with the priestess' body, Zola stood walking over to the Knight as he pleaded with his lover to come back to him but she simply laughed smiling a fang filled smile. "Your lover is gone knight...you stole my body from me so i stole what you treasure most in this life." The knight lay there frozen as Zola's voice sounded from his lovers body, everything inside of him told him to kill this monster before him but his heart kept him frozen. Zola reached for a weapon to end his grief but before she could end his life he slipped away from her, all he could seem to do was turn and run leaving Zola in his wake laughing at him.

Since that day the Kingdom of Esvalon has changed greatly, as most of the great warriors fell races turned on each other giving into Zola's rule over the land while others left and became deserters living outside the boarders of the New Queen's land but her lust for power didn't stop. She continues to push her influence across the lands taking more land as the years go by, but now the people are beginning to rise up forming an order out to destroy her and somewhere out there is a heart broken former knight with an unbearable guilt in his heart.​

 

[CrimsonDoll]

This is where you come in...

Ive been thinking long and hard if i want this to be a large group role play or if i just want to keep it to me and one other person. Personally ive never done a large group role play before so i would rather kept it as a one on one with each of us playing several characters. Later on when i believe it calls for more then two people it might be beneficial for one or two more.

But for now i am looking for a semi-lit to lit role player to play that of the wondering heart broken former knight. He was been traveling the lands trying to find some one or something that holds the answers to saving his lover because he still believes she can be saved. It was magic that took her from him and he believes that it is magic that will save her once more. His journey has been long from the druids of the woodland elves to the necromancers of the Drows that live under his feet but none can be of help to him except to point him in another direction. The last he visited told him of a powerful sorcerer born into that of the race of the Snow elves high in the northern mountains, a dangerous and cold journey for one man to take.

What i expect for you...

1) Someone that can make regular post
2) Semi-lit to lit posts that are at least 3-6 paragraphs
3) Well developed posts that respond properly to my own and whats going on around them
4) Someone that doesn't mind and loves to play more then one character nor matter the sex
5) Someone who can add to the plot and suggest things to add or come up with interesting plot twists
6) Someone that can play multiple character types

Special notes...

1) The Knight character is open for you to develop from his looks down to his personality
2) I don't require character profiles because i believe that gets rid of the mystery of the character as one gets to know the other
3) I came to the Role play section of the boards for a reason because im tired of just doing sexual role plays but if two characters relationship deeps and the times comes for such things i have no problem with it. I just don't want to jump right into it.
4) A warning my writing style can get a bit poetic as well as gruesome so be prepared for it and if you don't understand something its ok to ask. There is no censorship on my role playing. lulz <3
5) I love any and all input you may have in the role play because as my partner it is your role play as well. You should have some say.
6) I love personal conversations and questions so don't be scared i don't bite...hard. Just send me a personal message instead of posting it in the role play.
7) Please let me know if you will be leaving for any long period of time and i will do the same. As well as if you no longer wish to role play please let me know instead of just disappearing...i hate that.

Interested?...

1) Please send me a private message with a link to a current role play your involved in so i can see your role playing style.
2) Please don't post in this form i wish it to only be for role playing and nothing more

 

[CrimsonDoll]

((Occ: saved for map and discription of land as well as races))

 

[Insidious_Word]

The Knight of Esvalon

The wind howled incessantly through the mountain passes, driving the bitter cold and blinding snow before it. This was a land were few would want to travel through, and fewer tried. Even the sun was bleak and pale in the grey sky, as if it too did not dare to enter these forbidding lands. Everything was as one might have expected of the cold north, unless they were listening closely to winds, which carried a strange dirge.

Upon a snow-covered mountain plateau, evidence of a battle was at hand. Two gigantic corpses lay half-buried in the deep snow, giant axes still locked in their stiff hands, and their blood staining the white snow beneath them. They were not the last, though. The last stood some distance away, but he had little time for scenes of death, his attention directed towards the diminutive figure before him. Now he lifted his axe high, the great muscles in his arms cracking as they flexed.

"Man," said he, "tell me your name, so I may tell the graves of my dead brothers who was the wretch who fell before the axe of Hrukbar."

"Not upon their graves," promised the stranger, "but in hell will you tell your brothers that you met Ashram of Esvalon."

With a furious oath, the giant leapt and hacked, going to his knees from the fury of the blow, sending snow and buried rock scattering far and wide. Ashram had survived, as he had survived so many times before. A simple side-step and his sword traced a crimson line across the throat that was now within reach, leaving Hrukbar to thrash in his death throes.

There was no need to pay him more attention, for the dead were gone and only the living could be saved; Ashram had reminded himself of that fact so many time over the past months. His helm was battered and so he threw it away, freeing the dark copper locks of his hair. The journey was still long, and his horses had bolted, but he could not turn back now, nor would he ever. Everything that was precious had been lost to him, all except one.

 

[Insidious_Word]

A Journey Begins...

Barely a week had gone by when he had entered the cold north, yet it felt as though months of frozen torture had passed since he had entered these lands. His cloak was whipped by the treacherous winds, but the heavy furs that covered him from neck to toe held the frozen demon at bay. Shivering, he pulled the hood of the cloak lower to shield his eyes more than his face. He no longer knew where he was going, for his map had been ruthlessly torn from his grasping fingers by the winds and the howling snow-driven winds had half blinded him.

Feeling his was along the wall of a cliff, he felt an opening and quickly ducked into it. The wind died considerably, but it felt like a world of difference to Ashram of Esvalon, who was of the rolling plains and deep forests of the south, of the gleaming cities and the smiling sun that... No. That had been in another lifetime - the world he had left was one of smoke and ruins, of battlefields that was strewn with the dead.

As he removed the hood and stretched his aching muscles, it could be seen that he was a tall man, though it would not immediately be evident to all eyes for he was built in proportion that he might have seemed ordinary unless he were to stand side-by-side to another. The long thick locks of his hair were dark, but where the light caught them, a sheen of rich dark copper could be seen, almost metallic in its hue. Because of his features, men said that he was the illegitimate son of the king, trained to be his champion; men said that he was only part man and that a spark of the divine ran through his veins. Men say many things.

Such things were not in Ashram's mind however, for the cold and wind and the terrible hardship of his journey had taken its toll; his frame was gaunt from lack of food and the stubble across his jaw evidence of his lack of contact with civilization.

He took stock of situation - his horse and mule had bolted when he had been ambushed by giants, and with them, all his provision that made survival possible. He had yet to reach the limits of his endurance, but unless he found better shelter soon, another week in the merciless cold would bring him down.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he realized that it was the entrance to a cave that he had entered unguessingly, and it was much deeper than he had thought. A quick search revealed it not to be the haunt of some wild creature, but there was subtle evidence in the stones that it might have seen use. He was reminded then that entrance to the lands of the Elves of Snow was accessed through a cave that led to a labyrinthine maze that spelled slow death by thirst and starvation for those not welcome. There was not much choice now though, for daylight, however little, was a precious luxury and so he strode forth.

The cave descended gradually, and finally he knew he had found what he had been searching for - stone had given way to carved ice and trailed off into a dizzying collection of passages, nooks and crannies. Resolving himself, he reached beneath his cloak and pulled a carved rod, the last he had, and scraped the pomegranate-like tip roughly against the rock wall. Immediately, a brilliant golden light bathed the area. He might have a day or two to figure out the riddle of the maze, or perish alone and broken in the dark. Such a doom was more preferable than failing to try, and with despair steeling him and driving him on, he entered the mazes of the Snow Elves.

 

[CrimsonDoll]

The moment the human entered the cave he had been under the watch of the snow elf guards assigned to watch the entrance. They had traveled the maze so many times they knew the twists and turns like it was second nature to them. Their feet seemed to know just where to go as they moved a few steps behind the human and they watched as he was determined to find the end. Most at this point would of given up and waited their deaths but he continued so that peeked their interest.

Suddenly the sounds of a child giggling sounded through the icy maze and the guards were sent on alarm as another guard approached them. "The little princess escaped the castle again and she is running through the maze." The little princess was near a hundred years old but she only looked as if she was twelve and for her safety they kept close watch of her because she was the next in line for the throne. Lanora was her name and the cunning little princess like to escape her watchers and run through the maze to try and solve it by herself but today was the wrong day for her games.

Lanora was a small thing with soft blue eyes and the famous white hair of the snow elfs. She ran through the maze laughing as the guards tried to find her, her dress flowed behind her as the furs came loose from around her neck to drag on the floor but suddenly her running came to a stop. She stood right before the Knight, she was silent not moving an inch until she cocked her head to the side in interest and a smile moved along her lips. "Your lost aren't you..." She giggled softly once more rather innocent and she moved over to him to take his hand. "The end is this way...i know this maze by heart i just like to have my watchers run around after me." She began to pull the Knight along after her now but after a few moment she looked back at him once more.

Her soft blue eyes studied him, she may of been young but she was rather perceptive and smart. Lanora could see how the man struggled to walk, he was cold and not use to this climate like her race. Her eyes moved to his face now seeing how tired and pale it seemed to be causing her to move a bit quicker to the exit. As the two of them rounded the corner there stood several guards as well as her nanny who upon seeing the Knight scooped her up quickly in her arms. The guards moved around him quickly to seize him but the princess called out to them as she struggled to get out of her nanny's arms. "Stop...he is my friend." A smile moved along her lips as she moved away from her nanny and back over to the Knight taking his hand once more. "I want to take him to mommy...he isn't going to hurt anyone i know it." The thing about the princess was that she knew a person's soul the moment she looked into their eyes. It was a gift of sorts and it was one the people came to trust.

The guards backed down now but as the princess pulled him along they followed close by with their weapons ready. Lanora looked up at him once more, "Whatever your here for my mommy with surely help...she is the most powerful snow elf in the kingdom and the most beautiful." She moved a hand to her mouth now as she giggled once more and continued to pull them along. The snow elf kingdom was huge carved out of the largest mountain and the homes as well as the castle was shaped by ice. The group moved through the streets and the people's eyes locked on the human as they passed by. Royalty was honored in their kingdom but they walked among the people with out guards and with out fear of being harmed because the people loved them.

The group's journey ended as they entered the large throne room and it was then that Lanora's hand left the Knight's and she ran up to her mother as she sat on the throne. The princess looked just like the queen that sat before him right down to the color of the eyes and the princess' words were correct because the Queen was very beautiful. Her long white hair ran down her shoulder ending a few inches from the ground and her slender form was covered with white fabric as well as furs. "What has my little munchkin brought me today?" She asked as she pulled the princess up into her lap and began to tickle her. "He was wondering around in the maze mommy..." She princess moved closer to her mother now to whisper into her ear, "He looks tired and hungry mommy. He needed my help..." The Queen leaned over and gave her daughter a kiss. "Why don't you go play with the other kids and ill take care of our guest." Lanora went to protest but the Queen only tickled her into submission and the little princess ran down the hall with the guards running behind her.

Queen Serin's eyes locked onto the man with a warm smile along her lips, "Lanora has quiet a mind of her own and a gift to size up anyone with a single look. She believes your not here to cause any trouble so you are welcome here. I'll have a room prepared for you as well as food but i must know why a human would travel so far into the Northern mountains alone and it would be nice to know who you are." Serin laughed softly her laugh a lot like the princess' and she moved a hand to her chest to stop herself. "I am Queen Serin of the Northern Snow elfs welcome to our little paradise."

 

[Insidious_Word]

The dizzying pace of events had bewildered him, even unnerved him, but he was greatly unprepared for the appearance of the queen herself. It had seemed an age since had had leisure to observe the beauty of a woman and for a crazed moment he thought it was she, Astrianna, the first and greatest love of his life. It took but a moment to dispel the illusion that his numbed mind perceived.

Though he was, or had been, a knight of the realm, his body had not forgotten, and so now he drew his sword to the great alarm of the guards. Before they could slay or restrain him, he had touched the sword tip to the floor and he himself knelt low upon a knee. He was ill-aware of how unkempt and rough his appearance might be, but it was all he could do.

“I am Ashram your highness,” he intoned, “and I give you greetings from the once great kingdom of Esvalon and his royal highness, King Orric the Second. I apologise for my appearance, but I seek a boon – word has been whispered to my ears of a mighty sorcerer in the cold north who might be of assistance to a cause I hold dear.”

He might have spoken longer, but exhaustion and the pain of memories that were dragged back to his wracked mind overwhelmed him at last and he collapsed before the throne. Those who came forth found him without response, but he had clutched, upon his fall, the silver half-moon pendant that was his last reminder Astrianna of the Spring Moon, and no amount of effort on their part could force his hand from it.

The queen observed from her throne, her thoughts inscrutable to those who looked into the icy blueness of her sapphire eyes. Before she could speak further, a warrior of her guard entered the room bearing news of a horse and mule found wondering in the hills, bearing supplies for a long journey and a suit of armour and shield bearing the crest of the southern kingdom of Esvalon. There were many in the court who had doubted, but were now set at ease, but no less contemptuous for the uncouth appearance and suddenness of presence before their beloved queen.

 

[CrimsonDoll]

Serin's eyes watched as the man before her forced himself to draw his sword and to show her the proper respect as would a Knight before royalty. Her guards moved to restrain him but she lifted a delicate hand to stop them in their tracks as he began to speak. His words where curious to her, why would a man like him travel so far just to see the village sorcerer who was nothing more then a mixed breed they had tempted to cast out with her mother upon her birth.

Concern moved over her face as the Knight clasped and it was then that the guards moved to him to see if he was alright. Her daughter had been right, he was indeed in need of help and it seemed he passed out because of the affect the journey had on him. Before she could think of what to do with him one of her own Knights entered the throne room carrying a shield and he brought it before her. Her slender fingers moved along the crest upon it, the snow elfs of the North were known to be a bit cold only involving themselves in wars that directly effect them and she worried that if they helped this man that Zola's eyes would be set on her kingdom.

Her daughter's words filled her mind just then, "Take him to one of the rooms and call upon Tandline the sorcerer to take care of him." The guards moved quickly to lift him up from the cold icy ground and carry him into one of the guest rooms.

Tandline was quiet confused when a guard showed up to her home, it wasn't everyday that she was call upon by the queen and she wasn't told a thing besides that someone was in need of her talents. She wasn't a normal snow elf like the rest of the kingdom, her mother was from the North while her father was a traveler from the Lunar elfs. He came to the city as a trader but he stayed when he fell in love with her mother, a mixing of the races was looked down upon and her father was forced to leave the city. Months later Tandline was born and the two of them where only allowed to stay because her mother was the Queen's sister.

She hurried behind the guards her, she was almost the spitting image of her mother but the color of her eyes and her hair she got from her father. Her long sapphire blue hair and blue eyes set her apart from the rest of the kingdom with their white and pale features but she didn't mind it because everyday it reminded her of her father every time she looked at the color. Her journey came to an end as the guards brought her to one of the guest rooms and it was then that she was told what was going on. A traveler had come to the North looking for her, he was weak in need of her healing abilities that she inherited from her Lunar elf blood as well as her powers as a sorcerer for whatever reason he risked his life coming here.

Tandline entered the room quickly finding him laying motionless on the bed and she rolled up her sleeves to get to work. She moved about the room to get a fire going to make the room as warm as she could, he was human and in turn he wasn't use to the cold that she lived in every day of her life. Once she got it going she moved over to the bed to set down besides him and begin to pull of some of the layers of fur but she found it hard because he grasped something around his neck in a death grip and wouldn't let it go. She had to work her way around it and slipped one of her cold hands under his clothing to rest it on his bare chest over his heart. She closed her eyes slowly letting her magic move through her body and into his own.

Her magic moved along his body slowly warming every inch, every limb of his body until his body temperature returned to normal. She leaned over him to move another hand to his forehead, her long hair cascaded down around her as he bowed her head and began to concentrate a bit harder. Warming the body was easy but returning energy to it was a bit different, she would have to sacrifice some of her own in order to get every within him working right once more. She could feel herself growing weak as the seconds passed by but she refused to stop until he woke.

 

[Insidious_Word]

Ashram was no longer aware of the guard, even when they picked his unconscious body from the ground to carry him to the room. He was no longer aware of anything, but the dream. She was there. The shifting nature of the dream made it hard to tell who she was – was it Astrianna, or was it the fiend in her guise, Zola. Always, she seemed just beyond his reach. If only he could reach out and touch her, he knew he could save her.

But then she was there. He remembered it all; the forest, the days of joy and feasting, of days under the stars and the light of the full moon, far more brilliant in her company. He almost wept for the brief requiem which had been offered to him. These were the early days, when they had just met, in which it all now seemed far too short, yet they had eternity before them then. She had been the most wonderful of companions and that companion had become his lover. He considered this blissfully, now that they were in bed, running his fingers through her dark locks and staring into her green eyes.

It was then he realised and was paralysed. The hair that should have been blue as sapphire, as were her eyes, they were not hers but that of the witch who had usurped her body! Then those lips curved into a cruel sneer and his blood ran cold. Her hands ran across his face lightly, but filled with menace and an indescribably chill. Then did she speak:

“Long have I sought you Knight of Esvalon,” it hissed, and that hiss had all the menace of a sword being drawn from its sheath. “You escaped me once, but no longer. Do you intend to bring our lover’s quarrel to the cold north?”

Her laughter was that of a beautiful heartless fiend, but there was no joy in it, nor any emotion that could have been described as such. She traced a line down his jaw, along his neck, across his through, to rest finally over his heart. Those pale slender hands, delicate as lilies, convulsed suddenly, like talons.

“Your heart!” taunted Zola in a fearful screech that could not have come from a human throat. “I shall claim it for my own, just as your harlot did before we met. Only I shall be more faithful – I shall keep your forever by my side!”

That clawed hand stabbed towards his heart, and there was a sudden burst that threw him half clear across the room. He glanced up uncertainly to see her naked upon the bed amidst the sheets clutching at her hand, which was now turning to a dark mist as was followed by her arm, and now the rest of her body. She watched hatefully from the bed, but before she was gone, her snarl again turned to that wicked smile and then finally she was gone.

The world about him faded, leaving him suspended in a space of white and weariness again crept over him. He looked down at the elaborate tattoos across the left side of his chest, which stretched along his neck and his left arm – the old hermit had spoken true of its protective power against that which was evil – so long as his heart held true, though she had also called it a curse in turn. Nonetheless, Ashram whispered his thanks, even as the world now faded completely.

He awoke peaceably to find himself in bed and attended. He watched a sapphire-haired woman squeeze the excess water from a cloth and turn to face him. Despite himself, a slight disappointment came over him to see her face for he had hoped even when he knew it was not.

 

[CrimsonDoll]

Tandline could feel the worry begin to build in her gut, she had done everything magically that she knew to help the Knight and now it was up to him whether he would get through this or not. She had the guards bring fruit, bread and water to consume when he woke and right now she just hopped that he would wake up. She had worked carefully to remove some of the furs from around him until he lay there in nothing but his pants, she needed to get at any other wound he had and the room was so warm she didn't want him to over heat. The room was far to warm for anyone of her race so she was left alone and she had to change into a thin cotton dress in order to stand it.

The one thing that peeked her interest when she stripped the Knight down was the markings along his chest and when she ran her fingers over them she could feel the magic that lay beneath them. It was a protection spell of some kind one she had never seen before and it made her wonder just why he came to see her. Tandline turned her attention back to her work dipping the cloth into the bowl of water and she dabbed it over his forehead. Her eyes moved to his face and a smile spread along her lips as she saw his eyes open. "Sir Ashram i am glad to see you awake...i thought you might leave us a few times there." She gave a soft laugh now as she ran the cloth down his neck onto his chest, "I had the guard bring food and water if your up for eating but i must insist that at least drink."

She got up off the bed carefully and moved over to the table by the fire. She poured the cool water into a bronze goblet and walked back over to him carefully so she didn't spill it. Tandline sat back down on the bed near his head and one hand reached out to the back of his head to lift it while she moved the goblet to his lips. "Try to drink as much as you can and then i can work on restoring your energy."

 

[Insidious_Word]

“Where...” he halted before he could finish the sentence. It did not truly matter where he was at present. The room was much warmer than he had expected, the warmest he had experienced for weeks and already his natural resilience was beginning to assert itself. Though his body had recovered his brain had not been so quick – he saw, he heard – but without reason or understanding. Instinctively he reached for his sword, and upon finding it absent, his higher being was jolted into stimulation.

Though the girl before him had spoken, it was only now that his startled mind had begun to register her presence. The scanty shift upon her made him apprehensive, but the nearby trappings of a healer reassured him somewhat, and now he took a moment to examine the woman before him even as he accepted the water and fruit that was offered to him. It could have simply been that all women reminded him of Astrianna, and the thought vaguely irritated him that he should allow his eyes roam freely upon other women. He swung himself aside to sit upon the edge of the bed whilst he ate and drank, aware of a rising hunger. If he felt weakness or pain, he was not aware of it then.

“I am grateful to you Lady Healer, for attended to my body whilst I recovered,” he thanked before remembering his purpose. “Forgive my impertinence, but might you know whether the Lady, Queen Serin, has inquired into the matter I sought? I hate to impose, but my journey is an urgent one, else I would not have braved the wind and the cold.”

Even if there was no guarantee that the sorcerer of the north could provide aid, he was still willing to go onto the next if need be, just so long as there was hope that he could save her. The other possibility he did not consider, could not consider it. But another thought, a darker thought, had entered his heart – the gnawing fiend called vengeance – inflaming his mind with the punishments that he would inflict once his love had been separated from her. He grunted at the sudden burning pain and exultation that suddenly roared along his left side. To all appearances he might have merely leaned forward slightly and exhaled. There might have been a faint breeze that stirred his hair for a moment, but then it was gone. That was all.